Calendar competition winner

A picture of a tower of Giraffe overlooking Longleat taken by Wiltshire safari park guest Emily Dodd is to feature in the estate’s 2026 calendar after being picked from more than 2000 entries.

It was a difficult decision for the panel of judges, but they were unanimous in their selection.

Lead judge Alison Maynard, Longleat’s head of retail, said: “They say a picture is worth 1000 words and we all felt Emily’s picture really captured the essence of Longleat.

“We were delighted by the standard of entries for the competition to be featured in our annual calendar for 2026 which is a special year for us as it will be 60 years since the Safari Park first opened.

“We usually use images from the fantastic team here at Longleat to populate the calendar, but we wanted to give our dedicated guests the chance to show off their own photos and the response was amazing.”

Alison was joined to judge the competition by Tom Anders, Longleat’s resident photographer & videographer, and Ian Turner, Animal Department Media Coordinator & keen photographer.

The entries via social media were whittled down to a shortlist of five images, including a leaping koala, a prehensile-tailed porcupine and two shots of Longleat’s famous lions.

Alison said: “We’re happy to say that the other shortlisted entries will be showcased on various Longleat merchandise, so we will still get the opportunity to highlight these fantastic images too.”

Emily, from Lavington in Wiltshire, will also receive a copy of the calendar and a day out at Longleat.

Those who were shortlisted have also been invited for a day out at the Park.